Monk (season 8)

Monk season 8
DVD cover of Monk Season Eight
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	16
Broadcast
Original channel	USA Network (USA)
Original run	August 7, 2009 – December 4, 2009
Home video release
DVD release date	March 16, 2010 (Region 1)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 7 Next → —

The eighth and final season of Monk originally aired in the United States on USA Network from August 7 to December 4, 2009. It consisted of 16 episodes. Tony Shalhoub, Traylor Howard, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford reprised their roles as the main characters. A DVD of the season was released on March 16, 2010.

Crew

Andy Breckman continued his tenure as show runner. Executive producers for the season included Breckman, David Hoberman, series star Tony Shalhoub, writer Tom Scharpling, and Rob Thompson. Universal Media Studios was the primary production company backing the show. Randy Newman's theme (It's a Jungle out There) was continued to be used, while Jeff Beal's original instrumental theme could be heard in some episodes. Newman also wrote a song for the final episode entitled When I'm Gone. The song was accompanied by a montage of past and present characters from the show, leading the series into the final end credits. Directors for the season included Randall Zisk, Michael Zinberg, David Breckman, and Andrei Belgrader. Dean Parisot returned to direct "Mr. Monk and the Badge". It was his only credit in the series, apart from the pilot episode. Writers for the season included Michael Angeli, Andy Breckman, David Breckman, Hy Conrad, Tom Gammill, Dylan Morgan, Max Pross, Salvatore Savo, Josh Siegal, Joe Toplyn, Tom Scharpling, and Peter Wolk.

Cast

Craig T. Nelson made a guest appearance in the final two episodes as Judge Ethan Rickover.

Main article: List of Monk characters

See also: List of Monk cast members

All four main characters returned for the final season. Tony Shalhoub returned as former homicide detective Adrian Monk, with Traylor Howard returning as Monk's faithful assistant, Natalie Teeger. Ted Levine returned as the SFPD captain, Leland Stottlemeyer, and Jason Gray-Stanford reprised his role as the lovable but oblivious Lieutenant Randy Disher.

Hector Elizondo returned as Monk's new psychiatrist, Dr. Neven Bell. Emmy Clarke continued to portray Julie Teeger. Virginia Madsen entered the series as Stottlemeyer's new girlfriend (and later wife), Trudy K. Jensen. Melora Hardin reprised her role as Trudy Monk (Monk's deceased wife), and Casper Van Dien returned as Lt. Steven Albright, Natalie's new love interest. Tim Bagley returned to resolve Harold Krenshaw's (Monk's number-one rival) plotline. Craig T. Nelson entered as Judge Ethan Rickover in the penultimate episode. D. B. Woodside entered in the same episode as Monk's physician, Dr. Matthew Shuler. Alona Tal made an appearance in the final episode as Trudy's daughter, Molly Evans. Bitty Schram made a special appearance as Sharona Fleming, Monk's former nurse (Schram was a former cast member, who left during the third season). Other guest stars for the eighth season included Brooke Adams, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Sarah Aldrich, Dylan Baker, Eric Balfour, Ed Begley, Jr., Jack Betts, Kelly Carlson, Ian Paul Cassidy, Shelly Cole, Vince Curatola, Reed Diamond, Mary Beth Evans, Michael Fairman, Mark Harelik, Carol Kane, Bernie Kopell, Wallace Langham, Meat Loaf, Louis Lombardi, John Carroll Lynch, Jay Malone, Jack McGee, Lex Medlin, Jay Mohr, Elizabeth Perkins, Teri Polo, Sarah Rush, Rena Sofer, Daniel Stern, Eric Stonestreet, Karen Strassman, Jack Wagner, Gary Weeks, Chandra West, Wade Williams, and Alex Wolff.

Episodes

See also: List of Monk episodes

Series #	Season #	Title	Written by	Directed by	Viewers (millions)	Original air date
110	1	"Mr. Monk's Favorite Show"	Jack Bernstein	Randall Zisk	5.14	August 7, 2009 (2009-08-07)
Monk is thrilled to serve as a bodyguard for his favorite actress (Elizabeth Perkins), a former child star whose life is in danger after the publication of her tell-all book, until he learns the hard way how different she is from her television alter-ego.
111	2	"Mr. Monk and the Foreign Man"	David Breckman and Justin Brenneman	David Grossman	5.31	August 14, 2009 (2009-08-14)
Monk finds himself increasingly drawn to a case involving a visiting African man (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) who is investigating his beloved wife's hit-and-run death–a case that strongly resonates with Monk.
112	3	"Mr. Monk and the UFO"	Michael Angeli	Kevin Hooks	5.16	August 21, 2009 (2009-08-21)
Monk and Natalie get stuck in a small town in the Nevada desert, and a woman soon turns up dead on a nearby hiking trail. Monk and a local sheriff (Daniel Stern) suspect the woman's murder is connected to a recent UFO sighting.
113	4	"Mr. Monk Is Someone Else"	Salvatore Savo	Randall Zisk	4.98	August 28, 2009 (2009-08-28)
At the behest of an FBI agent (Reed Diamond), Monk assumes the identity of a dead hit-man who looks exactly like him in an effort to foil a mob execution.
114	5	"Mr. Monk Takes the Stand"	Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan	Mary Lou Belli	4.82	September 11, 2009 (2009-09-11)
Monk's phobias threaten to undermine a big murder case when an aggressive defense attorney (Jay Mohr) targets the detective's unconventional methods in court. Monk plans on retiring, when an unsolved murder is thrown his way.
115	6	"Mr. Monk and the Critic"	Hy Conrad	Jerry Levine	4.88	September 18, 2009 (2009-09-18)
When a waitress is murdered at a hotel, Natalie immediately suspects a critic (Dylan Baker) who was attending a play at a nearby theater to be the killer, but Monk believes that she is obsessed with this critic ever since he gave Julie a bad review in the play.
116	7	"Mr. Monk and the Voodoo Curse"	Joe Toplyn	Andrei Belgrader	4.74	September 25, 2009 (2009-09-25)
Voodoo appears to be the only explanation when unmarked dolls sent to San Francisco residents accurately predict a series of inexplicable deaths–including, perhaps, Natalie's. The two receive some assistance along the way by the owner (Meat Loaf) of a voodoo shop.
117	8	"Mr. Monk Goes to Group Therapy"	Joe Ventura	Anton Cropper	4.37	October 9, 2009 (2009-10-09)
When Monk's insurance company refuses to pay for more individual therapy sessions, Monk joins Dr. Bell's therapy group, where somebody appears to be murdering his fellow patients. Soon, Monk begins suspecting that Harold Krenshaw (Tim Bagley) is the culprit.
118	9	"Happy Birthday, Mr. Monk"	Peter Wolk	Tawnia McKiernan	3.98	October 16, 2009 (2009-10-16)
Natalie tries to throw a surprise birthday party for Monk while he investigates the mysterious death of an office building's maintenance man. Stottlemeyer, meanwhile, begins seeing a writer (Virginia Madsen). Note: This is the only episode in the entire series in which the title does not begin with but end with "Mr. Monk."
119	10	"Mr. Monk and Sharona"	Tom Scharpling	Randall Zisk	5.42	October 23, 2009 (2009-10-23)
Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram) returns to San Francisco to handle legal issues related to her uncle's death, which Monk suspects as being foul play. Monk soon finds himself torn between the differing styles of Sharona and Natalie.
120	11	"Mr. Monk and the Dog"	Beth Armogida	David Breckman	4.69	October 30, 2009 (2009-10-30)
Monk reluctantly adopts a dog while looking into the suspicious disappearance of its owner.
121	12	"Mr. Monk Goes Camping"	Tom Gammill and Max Pross	Joe Pennella	4.27	November 6, 2009 (2009-11-06)
To woo the lone holdout on the reinstatement committee (Wade Williams), Monk accompanies Lieutenant Disher on a scouting trip with the man's troublesome son (Alex Wolff), where nature isn't the only thing the troop has to fear. He does eventually woo the man who was against him, but is so happy he does not hear that the majority is against, leaving his friends in a state of confusion.
122	13	"Mr. Monk Is the Best Man"	Joe Toplyn, Josh Siegal, and Dylan Morgan	Michael Zinberg	4.39	November 13, 2009 (2009-11-13)
Monk must figure out who's making anonymous threats against Captain Stottlemeyer and his fiancée (Virginia Madsen) on the eve of their wedding. Guest stars Virginia Madsen, Teri Polo, and Carol Kane.
123	14	"Mr. Monk and the Badge"	Hy Conrad and Tom Scharpling	Dean Parisot	5.30	November 20, 2009 (2009-11-20)
Monk finds his return to the police force to be more challenging than he expected when he becomes involved in the case of a serial killer.
124	15	"Mr. Monk and the End (Part One)"	Andy Breckman	Randall Zisk	5.82	November 27, 2009 (2009-11-27)
Monk is called to a crime (Ed Begley, Jr.) at the location where he first heard the news of his wife's (Melora Hardin) murder. Monk quickly is set on the trail of a man (John Edward Lee) he believes in involved, who is also targeting Monk. Meanwhile, Natalie is reunited with Lt. Albright (Casper Van Dien).
125	16	"Mr. Monk and the End (Part Two)"	Andy Breckman	Randall Zisk	9.44	December 4, 2009 (2009-12-04)
Monk pursues the killer (Craig T. Nelson) of his wife (Melora Hardin) in the series finale. The finale set various records in television history, with 9.4 million viewers. It was the series high (previously set by "Mr. Monk Fights City Hall"), USA Network's most-watched scripted television show (previously set by Burn Notice), and basic cable's most-watched hour-long drama (previously set by The Closer with 9.2 million viewers).

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Monk (TV series)

Emmy Awards

• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, nominated)
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (Randy Newman, won)

Screen Actors Guild

• Outstanding Actor - Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, nominated)